The present invention is particularly related to the field of devices or machines used in the preparation of cold and frozen desserts at home, such as ice-creams, sorbets, whipped yoghourts, smoothies or the like. Typically, for these machines, the initial product comes in a packaging, from where it is dispensed into a receptacle where it is processed, typically by cooling/freezing and/or by stirring so that the product reaches a final temperature, texture and air content, before it is consumed.
The packaging used to contain the initial product is typically aseptically filled and is then sealed with a closure, typically a flexible lid or film. This makes it possible that, once out of the aseptic area, the packaging is sterile and can be kept ambient for long periods (typically, for several months) thanks to light and gas barriers in the packaging.
When used by the end consumer, this packaging has to be opened to deliver the product into the machine or device to allow its preparation. In order to simplify the consumer experience, it would be desirable that this operation is done fully automatically, so the consumer would only be asked to place the container in the machine or device.
Present solutions existing in the state of the art provide containers with closures where all the operations that need to be carried out, such as opening the lid or membrane (typically by piercing), opening and later closing of the container before it is removed from the machine in order to avoid dripping, can be done in a fully automatic way. Moreover, it would be further desirable to read a code in the container comprising the parameters for the process to be carried out in the machine. In order to rationalize the machine and the operations to be carried out, it would be desirable to use the same operation for the opening or closing the packaging and/or piercing it, also for reading or scanning such a code, thus lowering the number of components needed in the machine or device and, as a consequence, the complexity and the price for the consumer.
Furthermore, the packaging needs to comply with further requirements, such as:                Robustness: the pack should be highly resistant to any hard condition that may happen before the product consumption, be it vibrations, shocks or pressures during transport and storage as well as drops or unintentional wrong manipulations by the consumer.        Hygiene—before use: the zones of the packaging where residuals or hollow bodies such as dust or insects could stay and end in the product should be extremely limited.        Hygiene—during use: the product dispensing should occur in a controlled manner directly into the machine or into a processing container.        Hygiene—after use: even if the initial packaging will be mostly emptied after use, a residual volume of product might remain in it; hence, this packaging should be closed and hermetic to any remaining product at the end of the process, to avoid any product dropping when the packaging is removed from the machine.        
As a conclusion, several functions have to be realized, and rather than addressing each of them separately, the aim of the present invention is to provide a system that is able to address them all simultaneously.